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SeriesMania awarded on March 8th - The International Women's Day, Mo Abudu CEO of EbonyLife Group

SeriesMania awarded on March 8th - The International Women's Day, Mo Abudu CEO of EbonyLife Group
Having launched as a new initiative last year, coupled with today being International Women's Day, Laurence Herszberg, founder and general director of Series Mania (March 18-25), and Francesco Capurro, director of Series Mania Forum (March 22-24), announced the recipient for its Second Annual “Woman in Series Award.” (Last year’s award went to Christina Sulebakk, GM of HBO Max EMEA). This award, in association with European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA Network) and Pour Les Femmes Dans Les Médias (PFDM), is given to a remarkable woman from the audiovisual industry to honor her vision and leadership. The recipient this year is Mo Abudu, CEO, The EbonyLife Group. Ms. Abudu will be presented with her award on the evening of March 22 at the Forum’s Awards Ceremony in Lille. In addition, she will be speaking during the Lille Dialogues (March 24) on a panel entitled “Investing In Talent: How To Drive New Narratives.”

“From the outset, our mission with the ‘Woman in Series Award’ has been to increase the visibility of female producers and projects. With today being International Women's Day, a global day initially launched in 1911 celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, I am honored to be making this wonderful announcement alongside European Women’s Audiovisual Network and Pour Les Femmes Dans Les Médias. Mo Abudu is truly a remarkable leader and visionary and was the perfect choice for Series Mania and to compliment the 2022 International Women's Day campaign theme of #BreakTheBias,” commented Herszberg.

SERIES MANIA – WOMEN IN SERIES AWARD - 2

"There is nothing more fulfilling and rewarding in life than to be recognized for the things that one loves to do. We all dream of lofty goals becoming a reality, then one day those dreams come true. I'm indeed pleased to see EbonyLife Studios working with a variety of partners all around the world to create and curate powerful content that tells African stories as well as deepening global storytelling around the Black Experience. My thanks to all our partners for trusting us with this important task. And to the EBONYLIFE team, as I often say, we move with love," commented Abudu.

Laurence Bachman, Co-President of the association Pour les Femmes dans les Médias said: “Today, more than ever, we wish to salute, encourage and reward inspiring women in business and media, with a recognized and remarkable career in the audiovisual industry. Therefore, in partnership with the Series Mania Festival and the EWA association, PFDM association is launching the second edition of the
PFDM / EWA / SERIES MANIA award. Still under-represented in the top leading functions (10%), this prize must value the place of women in the media industry and demonstrate that women must feel legitimate and dare. The highlight of talented international women leading media companies is essential to demonstrate that women are equally able to occupy top management positions. Celebrating those women is one of PFDM’s missions. We are thrilled to remit this prize to Mo Abudu, one of the most talented, inspirational and smart business and creative women of the media industry in Africa. It is instrumental for PFDM to reward high profile women such as Mo, who has built her own road to success, which journey proves every day that she deserves a seat in the medias leader’s world. We need to put the whole media industry attention towards those women and to show younger generations that female role-model can empower the business.”

Jenni Koski, Executive Director, European Women's Audiovisual Network said: “As a membership-based organization, we're very proud of having created an international network that connects female audiovisual professionals from different countries in Europe and offers them enhancement opportunities. We continuously highlight the skills of our members and thrive to appreciate all other female leaders who achieve utmost success in their career. We highly appreciate the exceptional entrepreneurial talent of Mo Abudu demonstrated throughout her professional path and deeply value her commitment to creating a positive narrative around Africa.

  ‘Woman in Series
SERIES MANIA – WOMEN IN SERIES AWARD - 3

Award’ naturally belongs to Mo. It is an example of one person's ability to be a game changer in the complex environment of the media industry that leads to empowerment of all other women whom she will continuously inspire all around the world.”

About Mo Abudu:

Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife Group, has made her mark through various endeavors in the corporate world; she has been described by Forbes as “Africa’s Most Successful Woman”. Abudu oversees all the divisions of the EbonyLife Group which include EbonyLife Media, comprising EbonyLife Films and EbonyLife Studios, as well as the EbonyLife Creative Academy, a school aimed at accelerating filmmaking skills, and EbonyLife Place, Nigeria’s first luxury entertainment resort. She has produced several highest grossing blockbusters to include: Fifty, The Wedding Party, Chief Daddy, The Royal Hibiscus Hotel and Your Excellency. She executive produced Òlòtūré, a Netflix Original feature film that exposes the shady business of human trafficking in Nigeria.
While under Abudu’s leadership, EbonyLife Media has secured several production collaborations with international studios to include: Sony, AMC Networks (USA), Netflix, Starz and Lionsgate, BBC, Will and Jada Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Will Packer Productions. The EbonyLife Group recently launched the EbonyLife Creative Academy in partnership with the Lagos State Government; the fifth largest economy in Africa. Throughout the years, Abudu has been a recipient of numerous awards and international recognitions. Abudu has been invited to join the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences, popularly known as ‘THE OSCARS’ in the PRODUCER membership category. The only Sub-Saharan African woman selected in this category. https://ebonylifegroup.com/
About Pour les femmes dans les médias :
Created in 2012, the PFDM association aims to advance the place of women in the media, both in executive positions and in the places where media is consumed. PFDM’s objective is to brings leaders and experienced media professionals together who wish to ensure the visibility of women and their voices, to support the next generation of women in media. http://www.pfdmedia.fr/

About European Women’s Audiovisual Network: EWA Network is a pan-European organization advocating for gender equality in the European audiovisual sector. It acts as an international community that globally connects female audiovisual professionals. At the core of EWA Network's strategy is the fight for gender equality with the approaches of inclusiveness and intersectionality in the European audiovisual industry. https://www.ewawomen.com/

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